Increased pupil dilation to angry faces predicts interpersonal stress generation in offspring of depressed mothers

Abstract

Background Interpersonal stress generation is one mechanism hypothesized to increase risk for the intergenerational transmission of depression. Although there is some evidence of stress generation in offspring of depressed mothers, specific predictors of stress generation in these youth remain unknown. The goal of this study was to examine a peripheral measure of cognitive-affective reactivity (i.e., pupil dilation) to emotional interpersonal stimuli as a predictor of stress generation in offspring of depressed mothers. Method The study included 129 mothers and their offspring (ages 8-15) recruited from the community who participated at 2 time points separated by 6 months. Youth's average pupil dilation to emotional faces (angry, happy, sad) as well as maternal lifetime history of major depressive disorder were assessed at baseline. In addition, both time points included assessments of youth's levels of self-generated (dependent) and independent episodic life stress in the preceding 6 months. Results Youth's pupil dilation to angry, but not sad or happy, faces predicted prospective increases in dependent interpersonal stress across the follow-up. This effect was only observed in offspring of depressed mothers and was not seen in offspring of never-depressed mothers. Conclusions This study highlights a potential risk factor (heightened reactivity to facial displays of anger) that may identify which offspring of depressed mothers are at greatest risk for interpersonal stress generation.

Reward processing and future life stress: Stress generation pathway to depression.

“…Only two studies have examined biological measures that predict stress generation. Pupil dilation in response to angry faces in the offspring of depressed, but not never-depressed, mothers (Feurer, Burkhouse, Siegle, & Gibb, 2017) and serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms (5-HTTLPR; Starr, Hammen, Brennan, & Najman, 2013) prospectively predicted the generation of dependent life events. Fewer studies have addressed the second part of the stress generation model, but those that have found support for the indirect effect of risk factors on subsequent depression via stress generation (Davila et al, 1995; Hammen, Davila, Brown, Ellicott, & Gitlin, 1992; Hammen, Shih, & Brennan, 2004; Hankin, Kassel, & Abela, 2005; Holahan et al, 2005).…”

Stress exposure in at-risk, depressed, and suicidal adolescents

“…More recently, a study that measured several domains of life stress found an effect for maternal history of depression for dependent interpersonal stress but not dependent non-interpersonal stress (e.g., failing a grade at school) or independent stress (Feurer et al, 2016). However, similar studies comparing HR and LR youth have reported no differences in episodic stress, regardless of domain (Carter & Garber, 2011;Gershon et al, 2011), or have found significant group differences in exposure to interpersonal, non-interpersonal and independent stressors (Feurer et al, 2017). Taken together, it is unclear whether exposure to certain types of stressors characterize youth with a maternal history of depression.…”

Integrating dynamic interactionism into the brain–stress–psychopathology relationship.

“…Dependent stressors in turn mediated effects of reward responsivity on the development of depressive symptoms. Two other non-neuroimaging studies examined biological markers of stress generation and found that pupil dilation in response to angry faces in the offspring of depressed, but never-depressed, mothers (Feurer et al, 2017) and serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms (5-HTTLPR; Starr et al, 2013) prospectively predicted the generation of dependent life events. Another cross-sectional study (Whittle et al, 2008) found that larger amygdala volumes in adolescents were related to more aggressive behaviors toward parents during a parent-child interaction task.…”